Not so fast Pontiac
Before getting rid of the turntable i thought i should do one more test, an A/B comparison of the same album on CD and LP. So i set up a switchbox that allowed me to switch between the two inputs. Note that this is not a scientific test as the volume levels were not quite equal and it was not blind (i knew which was the CD and the LP). The CD was slightly louder than the LP but not significantly so. Synching the two sources took the most time.
The record used for comparision was Willie Nelson's Red Haired Stranger. Th LP is an excellent one as is the CD. I choose this because the vocals are up front and the instrumentation is sparse, usually just an acoustic guitar and brushes with the occassional bass and piano in the background. It sounds as if it is closely miked so the performance seems to be 'in the room'.
After listening for a while and making many switches between the two inputs i think i've hit on why LP sound is appealing - the vocals sound more 'realistic' on LP, more like someone actually singing. The acoustic guitar has a real 'energy' too it just like the sound wave of plucked strings. This dynamic is odd as CD have a broader bandwidth than LP's but a seemingly less accurate representation of the performance. Of course this is a sample of one, performed under rather loose conditions but it makes me think i should hold on listen to more records...
